Arkansas' top environmental official said Tuesday September 14, 2011 that she believes her department has "sufficient" regulatory authority over natural gas drilling in Arkansas but says she wants to keep additional inspectors funded through an agreement with the Game and Fish Commission. Read more »

Oil prices rose Tuesday Sept. 13, 2011 on the anticipation that a recent tropical storm caused a major disruption in supplies.

The government will report petroleum supply levels on Wednesday. According to a poll by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., the storm likely cut U.S. supplies last week by 2.9 million barrels of oil and 400,000 barrels of gasoline. Read more »

West Virginia lawmakers developing new rules for the Marcellus shale field would change the way the state hires gas well inspectors.

A House-Senate committee overseeing the Marcellus issue amended its draft proposal Monday September 12, 2011 to abolish the state's Oil and Gas Inspectors' Examining Board. Read more »

This summer, an Exxon Mobil pipeline carrying oil across Montana burst suddenly, soiling the swollen Yellowstone River with an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude just weeks after a company inspection and federal review had found nothing seriously wrong.
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